Commensal bacteria go missing in breast cancer

28 October 2017

Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic have shown that the microbiome residing in breast cancer tissue is lacking a commensal bacterium genus, Methylobacterium, strains of which are found in much higher levels in healthy breast tissue (1).

Researcher and lead author Hannah Wang compared the breast tissue microbiome of women who had a mastectomy, with healthy women who had had breast implants. Although it was only a small-scale study and a much larger study is required, the results were clear. They then studied bacteria in the urine of both groups. The urine of the women with breast cancer had much higher levels of pathogenic bacteria – ‘gram-positive’ bacteria such as Corynebacterium, Actinomyces, Propionibacteriaceae and Staphylococcus.

Chris Woollams former Oxford University Biochemist and Author of the bestselling book, ‘Heal your Gut – Heal your Body’, said, “Until about two years ago, most researchers thought bacteria lived in places such as the gut and the ears. Then they were found in healthy breast tissue. Only recently it was shown (2) that breast cancer was significantly different with high levels of E coli. Now more differences are emerging. The big question will be ‘Is it cause or effect?’ Almost certainly the loss of commensal bacteria and higher levels of pathogens will be found to be causal. This is increasingly being found in all manner of illnesses from Diabetes to Alzheimer’s, not just IBS and cancer. That’s why I wrote the book - If you want to be healthy, you must fix your microbiome.

Other studies (3, 4) have shown that bacteria in the microbiome can produce β-glucuronidase, known to play a role in all manner of illness from endometriosis to cardiovascular disease.”

How to correct gut disorders, candida and infection and build a new, healthy ’you’.